I have made the very difficult decision regarding my service to our community on the USD 259 School Board. I expect my service at the Kansas Senate to be exciting, enjoyable and consuming. Our state is designed to be governed by a citizen legislature, where legislators have strong ties to their District through business, non profit organizations and other ventures. It is in this way that the legislator learns how law impacts their constituents.

I cannot, in good conscience, leave the USD 259 School Board at this time. I plan to complete my term through January 2018.

Our state is essentially well past broke. We are borrowing from ourselves, putting bandaids on open wounds. The Supreme Court’s ruling on the adequacy portion of the Gannon Case and the to-be-developed school funding formula will not immediately fix our problems. We must identify our priorities and implement comprehensive tax reform. While better days are surely ahead, this will be a difficult budgeting season for USD 259. With no additional money and yearly rising costs, we expect to be facing additional budget cuts.

Asking the Board to take the time to conduct interviews to replace me, coupled with the enormity of getting up to speed this quickly to make informed decisions is simply not realistic. The KS Legislature’s choice to move elections from the Spring to the Fall, extended my term by six months and has complicated the job of Board Members. The current needs of the District are only one of those difficulties. Other legislators hold local positions as well. This is not an unusual choice.

Many qualified candidates have expressed interest in my seat, I am hopeful that these individuals will follow the work of the Board closely and will choose to file for the Fall election. As always, I stand ready to mentor any and all who have an interest in serving their community in this way.

Wichita school board member Lynn Rogers says he plans to keep his school board seat while serving in the Kansas Legislature.

Rogers was elected to the Kansas Senate last month. His seat on the school board, which he has held since 2001, expires in January 2018.

Rogers said he made his decision after talking with other state lawmakers who continued holding offices at local levels while serving in the Legislature.

He said the coming year could mean more cuts to school district budgets, and he did not want a newly appointed board member to have to face that.

“It’s not that I’m that important,” Rogers said. “It’s just that with putting a new person on the board – having to learn the job as well as jumping right into cuts and those kinds of things – that could be really tough.”

Following his election to the 25th District Senate seat, Rogers had said he was leaning toward relinquishing his school board seat, in part because “My wife probably would kill me if I tried to do both.”

Rogers said he plans to finish his term on the school board but not to run for re-election.

State law allows people elected to state office to continue serving on local boards, and it looks as if Rogers won’t be the only one doing so.

▪ Tim Hodge, a Newton school board member who defeated Rep. Marc Rhoades for a seat in the Kansas House, said he plans to continue serving on the Newton board until it completes its strategic planning process sometime next year.

“I’m waiting for our strategic planning to be done, just so the new person doesn’t have to come in in the middle of that,” Hodge said Tuesday. He said he plans to resign the school board seat before it expires in January 2020.

▪ Cindy Neighbor, a longtime member of the Shawnee Mission school board, has retained her board seat while previously serving in the Legislature. Last month, she was elected as the representative for Kansas House District 18.

▪ Debbie Deere, who was elected to the Kansas House in the 40th District, announced recently that she plans to remain on the Lansing Board of Education.

▪ In Wichita in the past, former school board member Jean Schodorf kept her school board seat while serving in the Kansas Senate in 2001.

Mark Tallman, spokesman for the Kansas Association of School Boards, said it’s “not uncommon” for school board members, administrators and others with ties to education to continue serving on local boards while serving in the Legislature.

“What it often comes down to is whether the travel allows it,” he said. “The individual has to decide if they can logistically make it work.

“Then I guess it’s really just up to the voters if they have any concerns about it, and that doesn’t seem to have been a problem in recent years.”

As a member of the Senate, Rogers likely will vote on state budgets that include funding for public schools.

Wichita is one of four districts that sued the state in 2010 after Kansas cut funding for schools while facing a budget shortfall. A ruling in that lawsuit is expected from the Kansas Supreme Court sometime before or during the next legislative session.

Tallman said any question of conflict “is really up to the individual to determine.” Because school board members are unpaid, Rogers would not stand to benefit financially from decisions on school funding, he added.

“I don’t think you could make any kind of argument that, ‘Well, I’m voting on school finance, and so that’s going to affect my salary,’ because there isn’t any salary,” Tallman said. “There’d be no personal gain involved.

“It is ultimately a question: Do the voters see a potential conflict?” he said. “It’s really hard to see how that would be any different than any other legislator, whether you’re a teacher or a city commissioner or anything else.”

Rogers said he doesn’t think serving as both a member of the Legislature and the school board will create a conflict of interest. He said he considered how his actions could affect both groups of constituents.

“If it’s beneficial for (USD) 259, it’s going to be beneficial for District 25. That was part of my decision,” Rogers said.

“We need legislators who have ties to a local community, whether that be a local elected official or a nonprofit board or a business,” he said. “We need more people that … understand when we pass a law in Topeka, how it actually affects the local constituency, whether that’s the school district or anything else.”

Like many Americans, I am growing weary of this election cycle. But for us Kansans, it is important that we stay connected and change the direction our state is going.

I am disappointed and concerned with what a failed “experiment” has done to our state. The poor economic condition and reduced credit rating of our state are not what we are accustomed to. We need to reverse course; we need positive change.

I believe that positive change comes from drastically changing the makeup of our Legislature. That’s why I am encouraging my friends and neighbors to vote for Lynn Rogers for state Senate, District 25.

I worked with Rogers for many years on the Wichita school board and developed a very healthy respect for him. He possesses the Kansas values we need in Topeka. Although fiscally responsible, he also sees the need to invest in our future. That investment would result in improved schools and a renewed focus on actually creating an atmosphere that lures businesses and jobs to our state.

Rogers is an independent thinker and won’t be bullied by party bosses or our governor. He will be a breath of fresh air for us who truly want positive change in our state.

CHIP GRAMKE, WICHITA

Published in the Wichita Eagle, October 23, 2016

Thanks Chip for your letter of support!

I served beside Chip for six years on USD 259 school board. He continues to be an advocate for public education and has always stressed the importance of stepping up to do all you can for the betterment of our city. Chip is currently CFO of a national Christian ministry.

The Riverside Community Garden is taking shape. We began building and filling beds today. Thank you to the many volunteers who gave a big part of their day and those that helped unload lumber last night. Your sacrifice of time and muscle is inspiring. I was glad I could spend time with you.

Wichita is full of people doing what they can to create good outcomes for their neighbors. Together, we are changing District 25, one project at a time.

Need a reason to feel good about our political landscape? This is it.
Tuesday’s primary was about voter opinion, not outside money aimed at controlling budget decisions for our state. The mail and advertisements were ugly, misleading and alarming, meant to arouse fear. I’m sorry you had to endure those. If you didn’t see it in the primary, expect them in the General election from far-right candidates.

Look what Kansas did. We successfully voted for many qualified public servants. Candidates with local community experience who have created and maintained programs and jobs that have contributed to the welfare of our city and state. Candidates with strong personal fiscal habits who know how to manage money. Candidates who are pro-public education. Candidates with integrity. Candidates who know their constituents and reside and contribute in their district. I am proud that voters saw through the smoke to the reality. We need experienced public servants to pick up the broken pieces and put our state back together again.
We can change the trajectory of our state together. But you will have to act. The August primary was only the beginning.
Ask for an advance ballot. Study the candidates. Cross party lines. In November, vote for the good ones. This year, you can find them.

We can restore integrity and common sense.
Application for advance ballot to print: http://www.sos.ks.gov/forms/elections/AV1.pdf

Or request to have one mailed to you: http://www.kssos.org/electio…/elections_registration_ceo.asp